Run
by CupcakeBean
Summary: Temperance Brennan was always running... Running from her past, running from her emotions, running from the unknown. A fluffy B&B oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** These characters do not belong to me. I'm borrowing them strictly for entertainment purposes. If they did belong to me, Fox would not be able to show Bones on network TV!

**Spoilers:** Very slight spoiler for "The Bone that Blew"

**A/N:** I'd like to give a big thanks to **lizook** for sending her Muse my way to whip my Muse into shape. Apparently it worked because this fic came to me quite easily. Now she just needs to help me with my problematic Max fic…

…

**Run**

Temperance Brennan was always running. Running from her past, running from her emotions, running from the unknown. Perhaps that's why she felt the need to get up at 6 am every day and lace on her running shoes. Today was no exception. As much as she would have liked to crawl back into bed for an extra hour of sleep, she was too disciplined to yield to temptation. So instead, she stretched to warm her muscles and headed out.

Forcing herself to confront the cool morning air, she jogged down the residential streets of D.C., heading for her favorite place to run, Liberty Park. The park was quiet this time of day, with only a few runners and people walking their dogs, so she was alone with her thoughts.

She reflected on her father, who had recently installed himself into the Jeffersonian. She still wasn't sure how she felt about it. It annoyed her that he'd gotten himself hired without asking her permission first. Booth and Sweets insisted that he'd done it to get closer to her, but she couldn't help feeling like he was intruding upon her life. Regardless, Booth had asked her to let Max keep his job and she would never break a promise to Booth.

As her feet pounded the pavement, she inhaled deeply, finding her rhythm. As always, her thoughts flowed freely without her conscious control. Christmas was fast approaching and for the first time in her adult life, she wasn't planning on spending it with a bunch of corpses. She had a family now and somehow spending the time with them felt more satisfying. It was truly amazing how she'd gone from having no family at all to having a large group of people who love her. Booth had helped her see that her family consisted of more than just her father and brother; she had Angela, Cam, Hodgins, Zack, and of course, Booth.

She neared the center of the park, swinging around to circuit a large, tree lined pond. The gentle babble of the water combined with the woodsy smell of the shrubbery lifted her spirits. Her mind, as it so often did, turned to thoughts of her partner. The man drove her nuts. Take her relationship with her father, for example. Booth was constantly butting in, forcing her to deal with her emotions, expressing his opinions whether she wanted him to or not. He just didn't know when to let something go. And, she grudgingly admitted to herself, she owed him for it. She owed him for a lot of things.

Her run now halfway complete, she increased her pace to maximize her cardiovascular workout. She liked the way this burst of speed made her heart pump and adrenaline surge. It made her feel alive. There were other things that made her feel alive like this. Completing a difficult skull reconstruction, martial arts, sex, chasing down murderers with Booth…

_Booth_. There was rarely a thought process that didn't eventually lead back to him in one way or another. As hard as she'd try to keep her distance from him, especially after he'd come back from the dead, she couldn't seem to function without him. The knowledge scared the hell out of her. He'd become so ingrained in her life that she had trouble remembering a time when he _wasn't_ around.

She rounded a particularly overgrown section of path and collided bodily with a solid object. "Ooof." The force of the impact knocked her off her feet, causing her to land—hard—on her rear. Slightly stunned, she shook her head to clear the confusion.

"Bones?" She looked up into the face of her equally startled partner. It was as if her thoughts had conjured him out of thin air.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" they chorused.

Booth, responding to her annoyed tone and accusing glare, answered first. "I come here to run every morning."

"_I_ come here to run every morning," Brennan argued. She couldn't believe this was a chance meeting.

The implication wasn't lost on Booth. "It's a big park, Bones. We could've missed each other. Besides, it's obvious you weren't watching where you were going." His eyes sparkled with mischief, knowing the comment would irk her, and he extended a hand to help her up.

Irritated that he obviously found the situation humorous, she stared at his proffered hand. His smiled widened and he waited her out. Finally, she took his hand and he hauled her easily to her feet. Though she was impressed by his physical strength, she brushed the thought aside and surveyed herself for injury.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

"I'm fine," she snapped. Having found no serious abrasions, she finally looked at him directly. He was wearing black running shorts and a grey T-shirt, with his iPod secured to his bicep. His face was slightly flushed and glistening with sweat from his workout. There was something distinctly masculine about him and Brennan felt her heart palpitate. Her body's involuntary reactions to him were a constant source of frustration, even though she knew it was only a natural biological response. Although if she were being honest with herself, she would have to admit she rarely had similar reactions to the presence of other men.

Booth knew she was cranky and tried to get back on her good side. "Having a good run?"

"I _was_," she responded pointedly.

"You run every day?" She nodded and he chuckled. "And all this time I thought you were already at the lab this early. I should have known you'd choose an alternate method of torture at the crack of dawn."

Not quite sure how to interpret his words, she became defensive. "You were running too!"

"Hey, I'm not judging! I'm actually impressed that you're so disciplined. You stay up till all hours of the night working and still get up early to run." He was impressed with more than just her discipline. Even though he knew it was asking for trouble, he couldn't stop himself from discreetly checking her out.

Her body was in incredible shape. He had already suspected as much, but the conservative clothing she usually wore hid much from his appraising eyes. Her running attire was quite the opposite though; she was dressed in a simple black sports bra, matching running shorts, and expensive sneakers. Her hair, tied back in a messy ponytail, was slightly matted to her damp neck. The outfit left little to Booth's already over stimulated imagination. _God has a damn sadistic sense of humor_, he thought. Out for a simple jog, he had run smack-dab into the reason he needed to let off steam.

Brennan felt her cheeks flush slightly. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her feel both nervous and exhilarated at the same time. She was self-conscious, not a feeling she typically experienced, and she grasped about for something to say. "Running clears my head. Helps me focus."

He nodded his understanding. "Me too. You know what else helps me focus?"

"What?"

"Breakfast. How about we go grab some?" He prepared himself for her immediate refusal. It was like pulling teeth to get her to put off work for even a little while.

"Well…"

"C'mon. We'll eat and then I'll drop you back off at your apartment so you can get ready for work."

"Okay," she conceded, "As long as you leave me enough time to take a shower before work."

"Sure," he grinned impishly, "You really need it. You're all sweaty." He wrinkled his nose in mock disgust.

"Me?! You're sweatier than I am!"

"Which is why," he tweaked her nose, "I will be taking a shower in the locker room at the Bureau." This earned him an eye roll and he flashed her a charm smile.

Brennan tried to scowl at her partner but was unable to resist his goofy grin. She felt her lips curve in an answering smile and she shook her head. "Let's go." As they began walking toward Booth's SUV, she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. She didn't know how he did it, but he was constantly knocking her on her ass.

Booth was delighted to have stolen some extra time with his partner. He playfully nudged her shoulder with his own and beamed at her affectionately. "Hey Bones…"

"Yeah Booth?"

"I'll race you."

"What?"

"To the car. I'll race you." She stared at him incredulously. He waggled his eyebrows and she laughed, rising to the challenge. "Ready?" He assumed a racer's stance.

"Set," she responded, positioning her body like his.

"GO!" they shouted in unison.

Temperance Brennan was always running, but for once she wasn't running away.


End file.
